Rob Schremp does not suck. He doesn't have horns, he is seemingly able to back check at will and not once did he refer to anyone's anything as sloppy seconds. According to our calculations he is not the worst player in the NHL -- as some curly haired coaches have led us to believe. Hell, Pouliot even scored playing on his line. Perhaps he can make miracles happen.

For the record we are surprised how loud the cries were getting from everyone to bring up Schremp. Generally maladjusted propsects with crappy attitudes get no love from the OilersNation. We think its a testament to the Shitanusly® bad play of the Oilers this year that he is coming in to such fanfare. If it means a win, you get the feeling we'd demand Craig Muni come out of retirement if he could be of any help. Of course he is busy in retirement running a watch cleaning business in Guelph called "Sloppy Seconds" and can't be pulled away. It's too bad.

There we were

As much as it killed us to leave our beloved JL meeting for an evening, we had to spin down to RX1 to run a few hockey beers through us. Our game attendance record has been spotty at best this year and we had to make up for lost time with our favourite beer vendor: All Of Them.

Don't tell me there’s a better city to watch a game in. There were louder cheers during the Tom Thumb game at intermission than those reserved for goals in Anaheim. And Anaheim is an awesome zone to watch a game in, believe it or not. We would hate to witness a 1-0 pre-season game in Florida. Even our interest in the game would be tested -- and we still occasionally play NHL95 on our Sega Genesis when the mood hits us.

Avery

Great Googly Moogly. What do you animals want from him? He's sorry! He sent his publicist into the dressing room to make an apology on his behalf! His publicist! That's what they are there for people. Publicistizing things that you think so that you don't have to talk to anyone. What more can he do? Send a fax to a media outlet? Pen a kindly worded telegraph? Surely you don't expect him to apologize in person. A Vogue man doesn't stoop to such levels. How gauche.

"I don't know if we can make the best possible team with Avery on the team." -- Coach Tippett

Oh please -- if the Stars were a band they'd be Shitallica. Interestingly, because the Stars have no AHL team they can assign him anywhere they like -- or so some talking head from TSN explained to us this morning.

Why don't they send him wherever the hell Emery now calls home? They can sit at that Siberian Railtown collecting cheques from Russian mobsters, driving bullet proof Ladas and acting as badly as they please. Then one night, as they are celebrating a win in front of 1,300 fans they can look each other in the eye and know in their heart of hearts:

Douchebags eventually get what's coming to them.

Schremp watch: 1 G, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT.

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Good for you Robbie! It was obvious that Stortini had a way higher level game, as did Reddox... But you kept your head down, worked hard, and who knows...If you stay at a point a game maybe MacT will keep you here till Nilsson gets better. Instead of working on your foot speed, may I suggest working on becoming a coaches pet like Pouliot; that is the true key to sticking with the big club.

Avery? Good thing he has been working on a new career. When his hockey career is over - soon - Vogue will be only too happy to give him a fancy job as skid-licker during male model shoots, becuase if he isn't a hockey celebrity, what is he to Vogue? A nobody.

Yup, Schremp is a fan favourite mostly because we all think he has gotten the shaft when it comes to getting a fair shot to make the team. If the crowds' reaction last night wasn't enough for the Oilers brain trust to realize this kid is what the fans wnat to see, I'm not sure what else we can do as fans. I guess we could stand up and cheer from the moment he hits the ice until he finishes his shift and chant his name for the first have of the PP until his line gets sent out, but let's hope that won't be necessary. Go Rob!!!!

I don't wish to extinguish the growing man crush you have on the hockey jesus, but he did have 4 min in penalties. 2 for phantom hooking and 2 for hitting the ice when his change was still involved in the play. But, other than that.......

The Shrempster proved last night he has been given the greasy shaft by MacTabulous. He is here to stay sportsfans!! But tell me something please... what the hell is Sam Gagner doing out there?? I focused on him entirely for about 3 or 4 shifts... he is absolutely a non factor out there. He looks like a bantam hockey player out there. Really taken a step back this year.

Watch that line change and you'll see the too many men call was bogus. Schremp's change was already on the bench, and it was the last two players changing that made it six. Neither of them became involved in the play, hence soooooper bogus call.

Schremp was solid last night. And hey, he got Pouliot to produce... nuff said. He definitely needs some more games though to see if the consistency is there. Hopefully the confidence he shows in his interviews is the real deal and not just practiced composure so as not to blow the big chance.

On Avery, that was hilarious - but stupid. The real joke is Hull signing this guy for something like 15 mil when they already have one of the best agitators in Ott. What was that about?

I think Sean Avery and Brad Richards should be traded to the Islanders for Rick DiPtero and Alexi Yashin's salary cap hit. That would see the exchange of 4 of the worst contracts in league history. If only Jeff Finger, Dustin Penner, Eric Staal and Martin Lapointe could be included as well.

Ya, Schremp had a very solid game. I remember watching him last season, and he was pushed off the puck (on the few occasions he was on the ice) and generally looked way to weak. Last night...He looked rock solid, great defensive positioning, sweet sweet skills. I can't wait to see how he can play the next few games, definitley looks like he deserves to be here. Good on Him!!!

Ugh, morons! The Oilers spend all kinds of time and effort developing a raw physical talent into an NHL caliber player, and you all whine about how he made it IN SPITE of the coaching staff?

Does someone need to post game film from when he was up in the bigs last time? The guy couldn't play in the NHL, period. This club isn't holding Schremp back, he said so himself.

What is it with you people? Do you think MacT was somehow keeping Ovechkin Jr. in the minors because the helmetless wonder didn't score a lot of goals in his career? Do you think MacT hates when his team scores goals? Are you kidding me? Schremp had to develop just like any other prospect. Breaking in the league at 22 isn't unreasonable, in case you haven't been paying attention for the last 50 years. Now it looks like he's ready for his shot, and he, MacT, and the fans are ALL happy. End of story. Wake up from your dream world, dummies.

I think we can all agree that Schremp did NOT look like the player he was last night, in any of the training camps we've seen him in. All of that time in the AHL has moulded him in to a player that can succeed at this level. Gilbert Brule was rushed into the NHL and has suffered for it. Schremp is coming into the NHL as a leader, and a responsible player in his own end.

His +- in springfield this year is evident of that commitment to both ends of the ice. I would rather have a Zetterberg scoring 80pys and being a plus 20 than a Spezza scoring 90pts and being a minus player. Not saying Schremp will be either but being defensively smart is a must in todays NHL.

Hopefully last night is truly indicative of how much Schremp's matured and developed, but a lot of this talk is still a little premature. Players often look pretty good their first game, just look at Reddox's. It has to show some kind of consistency now.

Regardless though, he was doing a lot of stuff last night he normally never did or did well. Pretty exciting stuff.

What will the roster look like in two years? Horcoff, Penner,and Hemsky will still be under contract. Gagner, Nilsson, Cogliano, AND Schremp all have skills but lack size and grit. A properly built elite level roster probably only has room for two players of this ilk in the top six moving forward. Any predictions? If Schremp can maintain a high level game will he stick... or is management showcasing him?

Which one of the Mini-Pops gets traded? I don't think there's room for 4 small, skilled forwards in the top 6, considering the general lack of grit on the team. Does one of them play on the 3rd line? What about the return of Fernie? If Schremp can stick, boy, we just have more questions don't we?

Well the 'sphere is pretty harsh on Sam, but you have to see the small steps. I've seen him in more corner scrums this year, in front of the net more often too. Then there was the play last night where he used Schremp as a decoy while slipping it to a trailing Cogliano. The kid sees the whole ice and thinks the game better than most vets - at 19.

On top of which, it doesn't appear to me that he's being sheltered as much as last year, being thrown out there against some pretty tough players. Looks like he's on MacT's accelerated program. Bound to be some bumps along the way.

Lastly, he was a relative unknown until now. Teams probably have a few pre-game words about the kid line now and as a result he gets a whole lot less room than he used to.

I agree that he needs a game or two in the PB to settle down. But from what I've seen so far, the kid is going to be something special.

Schremp? Yeah OK. Not bad first game. But lets see what he does in the next while before we proclaim him the next 99 huh?

Why does the short-leased Oilers fanbase like Schremp? Good question. I have a theory. It could be complete gunk, especially amongst the younger fans. For the fans of the glory days... judge for yourself. Staples was in the right church.... though the pew was way off.

When Schremp was drafted there was already hype around him. After almost making the team right away, he went back to the London team that in hindsight seemed to win a lot of games 7-5. Remind you of anyone?

I know after the draft, I found it very easy to keep an eye on Schremp's exploits like no other prospect in recent history. As an Oiler fan not tied to the team by geography, it could have been the same thing that attracted me as a young kid... winning and lot of goals. What an awesome combination! Now, ya got this hotshot who seems to be just playing with the rest of the league. In my mind, this guy was born to wear an Oilers jersey.

Then Gagner ends up in London and picks up the Schremp-slack and magically ends up on the Oilers even quicker. I think I wept over the thought of Schremp-Gagner-Hemsky once Gagner made the team so quickly.

perfect job mac t coach of the year again. hey i got an ideal . lets mentor edmonton minor league coaches on being winners. 3 goalies couple huggy bears an some 4th line ass kissers that dont shoot the puck for 3mill a year . one guy 3 points in 4 games 5guys 6 points in 24 games hmmmmm . happy golfing ha ha p.s. its like watching a dog with 2 legs swim. boys clubs are losers. prove me wrong.